End of an era: Habscheid resigns as Raiders’ head coach

By Rob Mahon

When Marc Habscheid arrived in Prince Albert to take over as head coach of the Raiders, the WHL team had a sub-.500 winning percentage and had missed the playoffs the previous season.

By the time he was ready to leave, he had helped transform the Raiders into champions.

The team announced Thursday that Habscheid has resigned to pursue a coaching opportunity in the professional ranks in Europe. The Swift Current native has been the head coach of the Raiders for the past seven seasons.

“It’s certainly hard to lose a quality coach like Marc with his experience,” Raiders general manager Curtis Hunt said. “We appreciate the time he has given us and the culture that he has helped to build and maintain in his time here. We wish him nothing but the best of luck as he heads off for another challenge.”

Habscheid said it was “an honour” to be the Raiders’ head coach.

“When I arrived in this city during the 2014-15 season, I thought I had an idea of what it would be like. Today, I can say my anticipation was blown away,” Habscheid said.

“As a member of this coaching staff, we watched kids grow into young men both on and off the ice, which culminated in celebrating a WHL championship here inside the Art Hauser Centre (in 2019). To every player who wore a Raider jersey, to every staff member who gave their time to our team, and most importantly to the great fans of Prince Albert, thank you.”

Habscheid won his 500th career game as a coach in Prince Albert. His 592 wins rank fifth all-time in the league.

Of the seven seasons, Habscheid was at the helm of the most memorable for the city of Prince Albert and the team in the 2018-19 season.

Not only did the team finish with a 54-10-4 record in the regular season, but it also went on to win the Ed Chynoweth Cup as WHL champion. Habscheid was named coach of the year for his efforts.

Another hallmark of Habscheid’s tenure was players moving on to higher levels of hockey. From the 2018-19 team alone, six players have now made their NHL debut and two others — Kaiden Guhle and Ozzy Wiesblatt — were first-round picks in the NHL draft.

Habscheid’s regular-season record as the Raiders’ head coach was 218-171-51. The team has said it will begin the search for a new head coach immediately.